GTA is overrated

[Takeuchi]

I loved playing GTA franchise when I was a kid, but after playing some of the old games as an adult I realized they didn't age well

Walking around a long map and killing random NPC's was a big part of the fun, but it just seems a pointless thing now and the main story missions are boring

Not only most of them are insanely easy — there must be 1 or 2 challenging missions in every game — but they're also repetitive and follow a formula that gets over-saturated at a certain point of the gameplay (e.g. — "drive to point X," "kill Y character," etc.)

Not to mention the story and the characters are "whatever". I just lost my interest in the franchise so I have never played the new games when I got the chance which was only recently, don't know if they fixed my problems with it but the point here are the old ones

 

[Dyne]

I could never get into them.
I think maybe I just prefer a more fantasy-type or sci-fi setting.

 

[Iguana-0]

i've never been into it either. Any game that has you doing stuff that you could do in reality is just not my thing. Like playing Football. Why the f*ck would i wanna play Madden {God knows how many sequels] when I can just grab a Ball and play outside?

 

[Waffles's iconWaffles]

I understand your points (and agree to them to a degree), but --for me at least-- those aren't so much well-structured games as they are stress-relieving machines. Perhaps it is because I have been playing VC since it was released, but going around the map killing slight variations of the same five or six people gives the whole thing a sort of surreal energy that keeps fueling the experience. I like the maps and the freedom to roam them.

That said... I agree that the missions can only be qualified as either "extremely easy" or "baldness-inducing", which is where the majority of the franchise's problems lay.

 

[No-Bo-Dy]

 

[Lilianon]

I think the charme of GTA, at least the older ones (I'm referring to the ps2 ones) come partially from the freedom you have in approaching some missions, and in general too.
Story is also a factor, like how Vice City follows the same lines of Scarface or how Liberty City Stories follow the lines of some cheesy mafia movie, but that comes down to taste I guess.
I think there was also the novelty of having open worlds with that much detailed worlds full of stuff to do and maps to explore, or just free roam. I did enjoy driving around aimessly from time to time in those games.
I do think that Rockstar mission design remained very stale and became more restrictive with each iteration of the serie.
Their best game is still Midnight Club 2 anyway imo.

 

[Bonkers225]

Yes, old games can become outdated as time goes on when it doesn't age well. And you only played the older games, and your conclusion is that the series is overrated just from that, without playing the newer ones, nor the upcoming VI. That's like me playing only the NES Mario 1 and 2, and just sum up the whole series is overrated. Yes, I know it's the popular, contrarian thing to hate anything that's well liked by the masses, so here's your attention.

 

[RetroGamerNat]

Man, I've wanted a fantasy/cifi GTA game since, well... I played jak and daxter 3, but besides that, beyond good & evil, the witcher, and maybe MGSV or zelda breath/tears, (I've not tried cyberpunk 77), I don't think we ever had one, sadly too big for indie devs and too risky for big studios.

 

[mrmoe273]

i always been a gta fan but even I can agree with you that they really need to up there variety in tasks instead of " do x " and "drive"

 

[pHoeniX_WRIght]

I personally still have fun with the PS2 era GTAs, I mean, few other games have a mission where you drive a bike up a plane, then proceed to beat up Chinese mafia members inside, then watch said plane blow up while you parachute out of it

Then, minutes later you're customizing your cars to look sick and then lose all your money at the casino.

But yeah I get your point, Rockstar definitely needs to do some new stuff with the new GTA, maybe allow you to have more freedom with how you do missions instead of guiding everywhere, for example.

 

[Takeuchi]

Yes, old games can become outdated as time goes on when it doesn't age well. And you only played the older games, and your conclusion is that the series is overrated just from that, without playing the newer ones, nor the upcoming VI. That's like me playing only the NES Mario 1 and 2, and just sum up the whole series is overrated. Yes, I know it's the popular, contrarian thing to hate anything that's well liked by the masses, so here's your attention.

But we're talking about like 90% of the games in the franchise. And from what I saw GTA IV isn't any different, with it's story the only thing carrying it

 

[kanesha]

It's quantity over quality, it has decent everything and nothing exceptional except that it has decent everything, cause usually game'd fuck something up if it tried that much.
It has firefights... is it *insert good 3rd person shooter*? (me weird, me thinks Lost Planet)? No, but it works, and you probably can't steal a tank and start a war with the police in *good 3rd person shooter above*
It has fistfights... is it *insert good 3rd person brawler/hacknslash* (me spicy, me thinks God Hand)? No, but it still works, and can't run away steal a car and run over those guys that gave you trouble for trying to mug their granny or something in *good 3rd person brawler/hacknslash above*
It has vehicle damage... is it Burnout 3 (I'm finally normal yay)? No, but it kinda works, and can't block the highway with multiple car accidents and massive explosions causing a traffic jam in Burnout 3.
...
(I ran out of steam, writing similar blurbs on story and world exploration and roleplaying is left as an exercise to the reader)

 

[moonbits]

I like the radio and the whacky set pieces but everything else can be sub par at best. They should double down on the simulation aspect of it for 6.

 

[Ikagura]

If GTA VI is just IV with a fresh coat of paint I'll be upset.

 

[King Koopa's iconKing Koopa]

I find most sandbox games really boring.

 

[Nidoking's iconNidoking]

I played GTA3 obsessively when it came out, but never even paid attention to the plot or main missions.

I've never been able to get into any of them at all since.

 

[106x]

I don't think GTA is overrated I think its just aged, its weird looking back and thinking that GTA 5 gives me nostalgia sometimes because the games still so active... after so long, I think the games are still amazing though, Love the story in each game besides the train mission iykyk also shoutout lester for being a goat character

 

[Ikagura]

I think that GTA got a popularity boost thanks to the controversy around the game but let's be honest, most of the people did that with the sandbox in mind than doing the missions.

 

[Ikagura]

I think RockStar has the same issue as Bethesda: the use the same template since the early 00's for their games.

We mocked Starfield for having jarring loading when going outside of a house but we should not let it go for R* if they make yet another "You've walked three steps on the left, John has lost you, mission failed".

I really wish they could've made a Bully 2 in a Community College or University and L.A. Noire 2 set in the mid 50's.

 

[Donte]

 

[Ikagura]

GTA V had an expanded cast but fundamentally it was GTA IV but prettier.

The three character system worked well on paper but ends up being a gimmick.

Also damn, I miss Euphoria

 

[Pandaprewmaster325]

And what franchise allows you to do all the whacky stuff? Get into a story of the underground criminal word with many memorable characters like Ryder? , people called mafia a gta clone , saints row a gta clone , it was groundbreaking series and still has massive reach in gaming , gta 6 trailer was enough to send thunderous shockwaves across the gaming community.

Gta san andreas gives you ability to live gang lifestyle like never before with ability to recruit other gang members who admittedly are bad at shooting but still a cool feature , 3 cities a vast desert and a countryside to explore in a 90s America style for those of us who never got to live during that time.

I played mafia 1 its a great game really really great in fact im the best player at it so good that I died many many times in the final mission and managed to clap sam at 1 health

My criticism of mafia isn't the AI that actually knows how to shoot compared to San andreas AI nor the dynamic damage model for cars or the realistic driving.

Its the fact that main mode is linear I cant cruise around the city and buy stuff and hold out against the police in some garage while choke pointing the endless police hordes.

When you beat the game you get to do that , but the world still isn't as intractable as GTA.....

Saints row is less like mafia and more like gta I remember my cousin having a saints row game where you had super powers and such but why play saints row when a better crime game exists? And its called grand theft auto....

GTA deserves the fame it got its not overrated the game is more akin to real life activities like crime which can be more appealing to casuals who aren't into the fantasy or nerdy stuff.

 

[moonbits]

I think RockStar has the same issue as Bethesda: the use the same template since the early 00's for their games.

We mocked Starfield for having jarring loading when going outside of a house but we should not let it go for R* if they make yet another "You've walked three steps on the left, John has lost you, mission failed".

I really wish they could've made a Bully 2 in a Community College or University and L.A. Noire 2 set in the mid 50's.

It's cool to hate on Bethesda, never forget.

 

[Ikagura]

And what franchise allows you to do all the whacky stuff? Get into a story of the underground criminal word with many memorable characters like Ryder? , people called mafia a gta clone , saints row a gta clone , it was groundbreaking series and still has massive reach in gaming.

While it may have been true in the 2000's about it I think that in 2025 the paradigm has changed quite significantly and the term GTA Clone has died out for a good reason.

GTA 6's trailer was enough to send thunderous shockwaves across the gaming community.

And my issue is that people are praising it for the visuals more than the actual gameplay (since there's barely any as it's an early stage).

It being made with in-engine cutscenes rather than pre-rendered could be surprising but it's not as complex as before (and they're not far from in-game scripts).

It's cool to hate on Bethesda, never forget.

True but I don't understand why one gets Scott Free while the other is being spat on for the same thing.

It's the same as Ubisoft for the same Open World model when it's fine for others to do the same.

 

[moonbits]

True but I don't understand why one gets Scott Free while the other is being spat on for the same thing.

It's the same as Ubisoft for the same Open World model when it's fine for others to do the same.

idunno man, opinions n shiet man.